High-resolution crystal structures of the botulinum neurotoxin binding domains from subtypes A5 and A6.
Davies, J.R., Britton, A., Liu, S.M., Acharya, K.R.(2020) FEBS Open Bio 10: 1474-1481
- PubMed: 32654405 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12931
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6TWO, 6TWP - PubMed Abstract: 
Clostridium botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) cause flaccid paralysis through inhibition of acetylcholine release from motor neurons; however, at tiny doses, this property is exploited for use as a therapeutic. Each member of the BoNT family of proteins consists of three distinct domains: a binding domain that targets neuronal cell membranes (H C ), a translocation domain (H N ) and a catalytic domain (LC). Here, we present high-resolution crystal structures of the binding domains of BoNT subtypes/A5 (H C /A5) and/A6 (H C /A6). These structures show that the core fold identified in other subtypes is maintained, but with subtle differences at the expected receptor-binding sites.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Claverton Down, University of Bath, Bath, UK.